Today on day 4 we are at Bihar …
Bihar is a north Indian state. The Bihar plain is divided into two parts by the river Ganges which flows through the middle from west to east.

According to Wikipedia

The name Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word, Vihara (Devanagari: विहार), which means “abode”. It could also mean College as there was a town close to Bodh Gaya called Bihar Sharif which was destroyed in the medieval
period.

In A typical Hindu Brahmin household you will hear conch shell being blown at dawn. Not surprising that in rural Bihar, religion is the main component of popular culture. Shrines are located everywhere foot of trees, roadsides, and
the dashboard of a dilapidated taxi to the plush office of a top executive, holy symbols or idols have their place.

There are many variations on the festivals too. While some are celebrated all over the state, others are observed only in certain areas. As Bihar is diverse so festivals take place around the year. Many of these are officially recognised so are proclaimed as government holidays.

But what is Bihari cuisine like?

Again according to Wikipedia,” Bihari cuisine is eaten mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Fiji, and some cities of Pakistan, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago as these are the places where Bihari people are present.

Bihari cuisine is predominantly vegetarian because traditional Bihar society influenced by Buddhist and Hindu values of non-violence did not eat eggs, chicken, fish and other animal products. However, there is also a tradition of meat-eating and fish dishes.

Dairy products are consumed frequently throughout the year, with common foods including yoghurt known as dahi and also buttermilk known as mattha, ghee, lassi and butter.
The cuisine of Bihar is similar to a great extent to North Indian cuisine but has an influence from other East Indian Cuisine (for example like Bengali cuisine). It is highly seasonal, with watery foods such as watermelon and Sherbet made of the pulp of the wood-apple fruit being consumed mainly in the summer months and dry foods, preparations made of sesame seeds, poppy seeds in the winter months.

Some dishes which Bihar is famous for, include Sattu Paratha, which are parathas stuffed with fried chickpea flour, Chokha (spicy mashed potatoes), Fish curry and Bihari Kebab, Postaa-dana kaa halwaa. As the seasons
change so does the Bihari thaali, every 3–4 months. The constants are rice, roti, achar, chatni, dals and milk products with some variation.

People use both vegetable oil or mustard oil and jeera or panch foran (literally “five seeds”, namely saunf or fennel, rai or mustard, methi or fenugreek, ajwain or caraway seeds and mangraeel (Kalaunji) or onion seeds for
“chhounkna”/”Tadka”(tempering) of some vegetables. There is a lot of light frying, called bhoonjnaa, in Bihari food.

One of the most remarkable things about this cuisine is “smoked food”. It refers to using smoked red chilli to infuse a strong aroma in food. It is used in preparing “chokhaa”, i.e. mashed brinjals/potatoes/tomatoes, either single or combined. Smoked chilli is also used in preparing kadam (a common fruit sweet sour in taste, technical name Anthocephalus morindaefolia) chutney.”

So why did I choose Ghugni & Dusaka? It so happened that

I had just made Litti Choka as a part of SNC. Litti Choka that had been my choice for Bihar. So was wondering if sattu ke paratha will be okay.

That is the time when Vaishali called…. and we got discussing the BM for the Indian States Vaishali suggested Ghugni and Dhuska. She also told me it’s on her blog. Do you think I will let this opportunity slip from my fingers? A readymade recipe and taste guaranteed, no sir, I may be many things but definitely not a fool.:)

I made the whole thing like Vaishali. Let me assure you hubby loved it and he served himself more.

Ghugni I made, like Vaishali with black gram as I like the taste of these grams more J and used 1 tbsp mustard oil and 1 tbsp rice bran oil as we do not enjoy the smell of mustard oil & the Dhuska is made from rice flour and a little urid daal. It is supposed to be deep fried, but I made it like a dosa.

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

​Hi! First time here?
You are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!
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you have metamorphised the popular dishes to suit our tastes so well, i honestly did not like the pictures of ghugni and dhuska on the sites because they appeared watery and bland respectively. this is interesting twist, loved it